Dear Parents, I have been asked a number of questions over the past two days. I wanted to share my answers for the most common questions and my answers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Have the children of the parent who has the infection have been tested, how is their health, who is monitoring them? Answer: I cannot share specific medical details about members so our community. I will share if a member of the ISD Community has tested positive. If you do not receive such a message, you can infer that, based on the information I have, then no one else has tested positive. Question: Is the CDC tracking the health of the other students and teachers who had class with the children whose parent tested positive. Answer: Yes, the CDC is collecting health information from the affected students and the teachers. Question: Will the school re-open this year? Is it closed for the rest of the year? Answer: It is my intent to re-open the school when the government allows schools to begin again and if it is safe. Provided those conditions are met, we will hold school with the students who want to attend and the staff we have available. We may have to be creative in the beginning, have half the class come on one day and the other half the next in elementary, or stagger the high school classes to reduce the number of students who attend on a given day. We may have to shift students to a different teacher. I am committed to having school if/when it is possible. Question: Does my child have to be in Dakar to participate in the online learning program? How will the online learning program work if my child is seven hours behind Dakar time? Answer: All current ISD students can continue with the online learning program through the end of the year. They do not have to be in Dakar to participate in the program. The online learning will be asynchronous, which basically means the teachers’ lessons will be taped or written. Every teacher will have office hours in the middle of the day where they can connect to the students wherever they are in the world. Question: Will my child be able to go onto the next grade if they participate in online learning? Answer: Yes, participating in the online learning program will satisfy the school’s requirements students have to meet to be promoted to the next grade. Question: Can my child come to school to play basketball or go to the playground? Answer: Right now, no. The campus is only open to employees. In the next couple of weeks, depending upon the circumstances, we are looking at having students and parents come to campus in small numbers to use the campus. I understand ISD has a role as both a school and a community center. While social distancing is important, it does not mean total isolation. Our thought is the campus is big enough for small groups of students to use different parts. We will wait to see how things look over the next few weeks. Tracking The CDC has begun tracking the health of the other students and teachers who had a class with the children whose parent tested positive. As always, I am available for any questions or concerns you may have. Feel to reach out to me at alank@faculty.isd.sn. Sincerely, Dr. Alan Knobloch Director, ISD